Obama's remark nothing to do with India: Nasscom

May 06, 2009 18:59 IST

Undaunted by US President Barack Obama's Bangalore-Buffalo remark, the domestic IT industry said the comments had nothing to do with outsourcing or with India.

"I think it (Obama's comments) is not an issue of India but how the US companies there and US subsidiaries are structured and the taxation followed by the US over the years," said IT industry association Nasscom's president Som Mittal.

He was speaking to reporters after presenting the Nasscom-McKinsey report on Perspective 2020.

"It has nothing to do with India", said Mittal. The President has said that the additional taxes that he would get would be invested to do research training and so on to create jobs. "I think that (creating more jobs) should be welcomed," said Mittal.

"Our (IT) industry is actually a part of the solution that America requires to become more competitive so that transformation happens faster and not an issue of a problem we have created."

On whether the issue impacts India, he said, "If we see it impacting us in any way, as a bill is drafted, we will do our needful," he said. The industry, he said, could also focus on the non-US markets which also contribute to the revenues.

Reacting to the statement, Nasscom chairman Pramod Bhasin said the statement had been misinterpreted. "It has nothing to do with outsourcing, it has nothing to do with out-shoring".

"I think he (President) got his geography wrong." The manufacturing jobs, he said, were going to Beijing.